NORTH   CAROLINA'S 

Social  Welfare  Program 


NEGROES 


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FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


THIS  TITLE  HAS  BEEN  MICROFILMED 


Form  No.  A-368 


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Frank — One  of  North  Carolina's  Social,  Liabilities 


This  13-year  old  feeble-minded  boy  is  an  acute  example  of  the  results  of 
unhealthy  social  conditions  which  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare, 
through  its  Division  of  Negro  Work,  is  trying  to  solve  by  encouraging  sound  con- 
structive social  work. 


NORTH    CAROLINA'S 


Social  Welfare  Program 


NEGROES 


Special  Bulletin  Number  8 

issued  by  the 

North  Carolina  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare 

Kate  Burr  Johnson,  Commissioner 

Raleigh,   N.   C. 

1926 


"We  hold  our  title  to  power  by  the  tenure  of  service  to 
God,  and  if  we  fail  to  administer  equal  and  exact 
justice  to  the  Negro  we  shall  in  the  fulness  of  time 
lose  power  ourselves,  for  we  must  know  that  the  God 
who  is  Love  trusts  no  people  with  authority  for  the 
purpose  of  enabling  them  to  do  injustice  to  the  weak." 

— Governor  Aycock. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Letter   of   Transmittal 6 

Foreword 7 

North  Carolina's  Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 9 

The  Problem  11 

The   Program    Outlined ' 16 

Review   of  Accomplishments 17 

Program    of   the    Institute    of    Public    Welfare    Held    at    Winston-Salem, 

January    13-15,    1926 26 

State   Institutions   35 

Negro    State    Committee 40 

Summary  of  Accomplishments 40 

Education 42 

Aims   and    Objectives 42 

Work  Marked  by  Hearty  Cooperation 41 


ft 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 


Mrs.  Kate  Burr  Johnson, 
Commissioner  of  Public  Welfare, 
Raleigh,  North  Carolina. 
My  dear  Mrs.  Johnson : 

I  am  submitting  herewith  a  digest  covering  the  program  and  activities 
of  the  Division  of  Negro  Work  for  the  eighteen  months  period,  ending 
June  30,  1926;  together  with  recommendations  for  the  future  develop- 
ment of  the  work  of  this  division. 

The  objectives  realized,  and  the  other  results  coming  out  of  this 
pioneer  effort  in  the  field  of  social  welfare  work  among  Negroes  in 
North  Carolina  are  offered  for  publication  in  the  hope  that  this  ma- 
terial may  be  helpful  to  boards  of  county  commissioners,  county  boards 
of  public  welfare,  county  superintendents  of  public  welfare,  and  others 
charged  with  the  responsibility  of  promoting  the  social  welfare  of  the 
Negro. 

Respectfully, 

Lawrence  A.  Oxley, 
Director  Division  of  Negro  Work. 
December  1,  1926. 


FOREWORD 


A  new  movement  is  stirring  in  the  South.  It  relates  to  the  Negro. 
It  is  born  of  an  honest  admission  on  the  part  of  numerous  white  people 
that  the  Negro  deserves  opportunities  for  development  and  expression 
of  his  powers.  The  Negro  is  being  given  new  responsibility  and  a  more 
enlightened  regard.  This  he  has  won  by  his  own  honest  efforts  to 
improve  himself. 

The  North  Carolina  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare 
had  long  felt  that — not  from  lack  of  sympathy  but  from  lack  of  funds — 
its  program  for  social  betterment  had  not  been  applied  to  the  Negro  as 
comprehensively  as  it  should  have  been  nor  made  as  definite  a  part  of 
this  new  movement  as  could  be  wished.  As  North  Carolina  was  sympa- 
thetic to  the  new  movement  in  other  important  respects,  the  State's  lack 
of  an  adequate  program  of  public  welfare  work  among  the  Negroes 
made  a  serious  gap  to  be  bridged.  Inter-racial  relations  in  North 
Carolina  were  good.  For  the  most  part  people  had  stopped  worrying 
unduly  about  the  "race  problem"  and  had  settled  down  to  a  calm  and 
sensible  existence.  The  State  had  awakened  to  a  duty  to  perform  rather 
than  a  problem  to  solve.  There  had  not  been  a  lynching  in  North 
Carolina  for  several  years.  We  had  an  excellent  division  of  Negro 
Education.  There  was  a  rapidly  increasing  group  of  intelligent,  inde- 
pendent Negroes  in  the  State  to  whom  we  could  look  for  sanity  and 
unselfishness  in  cooperation  and  leadership.  It  was  clear  that  North 
Carolina  should  no  longer  lag  behind  in  a  definite  program  which  has 
for  its  objective  the  decrease  of  crime,  poverty  and  defectiveness  among 
the  Negroes. 

The  beginning  of  such  a  program  on  January  1,  1925,  was  made 
possible  through  part  of  a  joint  grant  from  the  Laura  Spelman-Rocke- 
feller  Memorial  Foundation  made  to  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and 
Public  Welfare  and  the  School  of  Public  Welfare  of  the  University  of 
North  Carolina  for  a  four-county  demonstration.  An  able  and 
conscientious  man,  Lieutenant  Lawrence  A.  Oxley  was  selected  to  direct 
it  under  the  supervision  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public 
Welfare,  as  the  head  of  the  board's  Division  of  Work  Among  the 
Negroes.  The  report  which  he  presents  here  tells  of  the  work's  sympa- 
thetic reception  and  progress  by  cooperation  on  the  part  of  whites  and 
Negroes  which  justify  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare 
in  asking  the  continuation  and  expansion  of  the  program  by  appropria- 
tion from  the  North  Carolina  General  Assembly. 

Kate  Buee  Johnson. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/northcarolinassoOOnort 


NORTH  CAROLINA'S  SOCIAL  WELFARE 
PROGRAM  FOR  NEGROES 


'This  world  will  not  be  a  good  place  for  any  of  us  to  live  in 
unless  we  make  it  a  good  place  for  all  of  us  to  live  in." 

— Roosevelt. 


The  following  short  story  of  the  program  development  of  the  Division 
of  Work  Among  Negroes,  affords  opportunity  for  a  brief  statement 
outlining  the  purpose  of  the  division;  its  major  two-fold  program;  the 
subsequent  organization  and  development;  its  accomplishments;  and  a 
brief  summary  of  aims  and  objectives  for  the  future. 

The  State  Board  of  Charities  has  endeavored  over  a  period  of  years 
to  provide  a  social  welfare  program  for  Negroes;  but  lack  of  funds 
prevented  any  organized  effort  in  this  field  of  Negro  work.  Through 
means  of  part  of  a  joint  grant  from  the  Laura  Spelman-Rockefeller 
Memorial  Fund,  to  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare 
and  the  School  of  Public  Welfare  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
for  a  Pour-County  Demonstration,  the  Division  of  Work  Among  Negroes 
was  created  January  1,  1925.  In  establishing  the  Negro  Division  it  was 
the  hope  of  the  State  Board  that  a  demonstration  program  could  be  put 
on  with  the  ultimate  idea  in  view  of  using  the  results  obtained  as  the 
basis  for  developing  a  state-wide  public  welfare  program  for  Negroes. 
In  working  out  the  program  of  the  Negro  Division,  close  contact  has 
been  maintained  with  the  several  other  divisions  which  operate  under 
the  State  Board  of  Charities. 

The  purpose  which  led  to  the  creation  of  this  important  department 
was  to  meet  in  some  measure  a  long  recognized  need  for  a  constructive 
state-wide  program  of  social  work  for  Negroes.  Two  objectives  of  the 
division  are :  intelligent  study  of  Negro  life  with  its  social  problems ; 
and  the  developing  of  programs  in  the  community  through  the  stimulat- 
ing of  cooperative  self-help  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Negroes.  The 
division  from  the  beginning  has  had  to  "blaze  a  trail"  in  the  develop- 
ment of  a  social  welfare  program  for  the  Negro  population.  NorthV 
Carolina  was  the  first  state  in  the  Union  to  attempt,  in  a  very  concrete 
manner,  the  active  promotion  of  a  public  welfare  program  for  Negroes. 
The  effort,  started  as  a  venture  of  faith  in  the  possibilities  of  a  race  to 
develop  its  own  leaders,  and  organize  its  social  forces  for  community 
betterment,  had  only  the  general  principles  of  social  work  technic  to 


10 


Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 


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State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare  11 

guide  the  initial  steps.  However,  real  progress  and  constructive  results 
in  the  social  well-being  of  a  people  handicapped  by  bad  traditional 
environmental  influences  plus  a  variety  of  social  diseases,  have  rewarded 
the  efforts  of  workers  in  this  pioneer  field. 

From  the  start  the  idea  has  been  stressed  that  welfare  work  of  a  con- 
structive nature  for  Negroes,  could  not  be  "put  over  on  them"  but,  that 
on  the  other  hand,  the  work,  if  it  was  to  prove  worthwhile  and  perma- 
nent in  character,  must  be  developed  with  the  Negroes  fully  understand- 
ing and  assuming  in  large  degree  responsibility  in  solving  their  own 
problems.  With  the  full  realization  that  policies  cannot  be  defined 
and  intelligently  carried  out  without  a  knowledge  of  the  conditions 
which  exist  in  the  field,  the  director  of  the  division  has  endeavored 
to  make  short  social  studies  of  cross-sections  of  Negro  life  in  several 
typical  communities.  The  results  of  these  studies  have  served  as  a 
basis  for  determining  the  policies  which  guided  each  step  in  the  program 
development. 

An  outline  of  objectives  of  the  division  will  serve  to  present  a  pen 
picture  of  the  progress  made,  and  also  afford  a  basis  for  measuring  or 
evaluating  the  results  obtained.  Were  adequate  funds  and  trained  per- 
sonnel available,  and  had  the  division  attempted  a  remedial  type  of 
social  work  for  Negroes,  the  whole  program  would  have  been  sub- 
merged beneath  a  mass  of  social  ills  and  problems  of  racial  mal-adjust- 
ment,  most  complex  in  character,  and  most  difficult  of  solving.  The 
constructive  note  has  been  emphasized. 

THE  PROBLEM 

The  masses  of  Negroes  crowded  in  the  mean  quarters  of  North  Caro- 
lina cities  present  problems  in  human  depravity  that  can  only  be  re- 
lieved by  slow  growth  and  the  planting  of  desire  among  these  people 
themselves  to  improve  their  condition.  The  squalid  shacks  of  poor 
Negroes  and  the  filthy  "bed  houses"  where  a  great  army  of  migrants 
live  for  a  day  or  a  week  present  basic  problems  that  must  be  dealt  with 
if  any  good  is  to  come  from  the  work. 

Here  are  the  hotbeds  of  disease,  crime,  and  mental  defectiveness  that 
must  be  cleaned  up  if  both  races  are  not  to  suffer  from  the  effect  of 
these  social  ills  in  an  ever  increasing  degree.  The  work  is  far  too  great 
for  any  quick  success  or  early  results.    But  a  start  has  been  made. 

The  lack  of  wholesome  recreational  facilities  presents  an  ugly  situa- 
tion along  beside  the  rather  large  number  of  questionable  dance  halls, 
gambling  "clubs,"  and  even  more  vicious  resorts.  The  apathy  of  the 
Negro  of  the  lower  class  is  probably  an  even  worse  situation.  The 
development  of  a  program  of  public  welfare  cannot  be  left  a  problem  for 
the  white  people  to  deal  with.  It  is  inherently  a  question  for  the  Negro 
to  solve  for  himself.     It  must  come  about  through  education  and  the 


12 


Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 


State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare  13 

efforts  of  the  trained  leaders  of  the  race  for  their  poorer  and  less  intelli- 
gent fellows.  Hundreds  of  Negroes  are  found  living  in  filthy  houses 
when  they  are  able  to  live  in  cleaner  and  better  ones.  Many  Negroes 
of  the  lower  class,  whatever  their  ability  to  pay  for  houses,  do  not  keep 
their  homes  in  decent  condition.  There  is  a  slothfulness,  an  ignorance, 
and  a  dreadful  carelessness  among  them. 

Negro  Migration 

The  serious  crime  wave  which  held  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County 
in  its  grasp  during  the  months  of  August  and  September,  1925,  was  a 
symptom  of  a  more  fundamental  social  disorder.  Asheville  is  located 
in  the  extreme  western  part  of  the  State,  where  one  finds  within  a 
radius  of  forty  miles,  the  State  line  of  Georgia,  Tennessee  and  South 
Carolina.  Long  ago  North  Carolina  assumed  leadership  over  the| 
entire  South  in  the  fields  of  Negro  education,  health,  and  social  welfare. 
The  states  contiguous  have  not  kept  pace  with  the  progressive,  construc- 
tive program  North  Carolina  provides  for  the  welfare  of  the  Negro 
within  its  borders.  Negroes  in  the  adjoining  states,  noting  the  increased 
opportunities  and  achievements  of  the  Negroes  in  North  Carolina,  have 
migrated  to  the  State  in  large  numbers  during  the  past  five  years. 
This  transient  group  make  up  about  fifty  per  cent  of  the  inmates  of  the 
State  institutions  for  delinquents,  dependents,  and  defectives.  Their 
coming  has  had  a  tendency  to  break  down  the  higher  and  better  economic 
and  social  status  of  their  North  Carolina  brother.  The  seriousness  of 
this  problem  may  be  better  judged  by  a  perusal  of  the  following  facts. 
During  the  year  1925  seventy  per  cent  of  the  Negroes  convicted  in  the 
courts  of  Buncombe  County  were  migrants  from  adjoining  states.  Dur- 
ing the  last  three  months  of  the  year  nine  illegitimate  infants  of  young 
South  Carolina  Negro  mothers  have  been  buried  in  the  Buncombe 
County  Home  Cemetery.  What  is  true  in  Buncombe  County  touching 
the  social  welfare  of  the  Negro  is  equally  true  in  many  other  counties 
of  North  Carolina,  particularly  the  border  counties,  and  large  industrial 
centers  like  Winston-Salem,  Durham,  and  Rocky  Mount.  The  native 
Negro  population  in  itself  presents  many  social,  health,  and  economic 
problems  which  tax  the  facilities  of  the  State's  social  agencies  and 
institutions.  Add  to  these  problems  the  social  ills  and  human  weak- 
nesses of  a  large  group  of  ignorant  and  socially  sick  Negroes  from 
other  states,  and  we  have  a  situation  that  abounds  with  many  com- 
plexities. The  Asheville  situation  is  noted  here  as  an  example  of  a  type 
of  social  problem  with  a  racial  complex,  which,  if  not  early  recognized 
and  intelligently  studied  and  treated,  will  place  an  added  burden  on  the 
already  heavily  taxed  population. 


14 


Social  Welfare  Peogram  for  Negroes 


Administration   Building 

State  School  for  Negro  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind 

Raleigh,  N.  C. 


The  State  Hospital  for  Negro  Insane 
Goldsboro,   N.   C. 


State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare  15 

Other  Contributing  Factors 

The  traffic  in  liquor,  the  narcotic  evil,  the  mental  defective,  the  de- 
linquent girl,  the  woeful  lack  of  a  constructive  industrial  program  for 
Negro  women  and  girls  serving  sentences  in  the  county  jails  of  the 
State,  each  of  these  problems  touches  the  community  life  of  the  State, 
and  all  are  contributing  factors  toward  filling  our  many  institutions, 
and  making  the  whole  social  structure  a  "house  of  trouble,"  this,  through 
the  reproduction  of  their  kind.  One  cannot  survey  the  human  family 
in  North  Carolina,  particularly  the  Negro  group,  without  seeing  the 
urgent  need  for  a  program  of  remedial  social  work.  But,  of  far  more 
importance  is  the  crying  need,  apparent  on  every  hand,  for  the  Negro 
to  be  roused  from  his  lethargic  state,  and  catching  the  vision  of  self- 
help,  through  an  active  participation  in  the  solving  of  his  own  problems, 
develop  into  a  contributing  group  in  the  progressive  program  of  making 
North  Carolina  a  better  place  for  all  men  to  live  in. 

Feeble-Mindedness 

The  problem  of  the  feeble-minded  Negro  is  a  most  difficult  one, 
and  a  serious  social  liability  affecting  the  general  welfare  of  North 
Carolina.  The  State  makes  no  provision  for  the  care  or  treatment 
of  this  unfortunate  group.  While  it  is  the  primary  duty  of  the  State 
to  provide  adequate  facilities  and  treatment  for  the  insane,  it  is  equally 
as  important  to  afford  special  provisions  for  the  treatment  of  the 
feeble-minded.  The  mere  extent  of  the  problem  of  feeble-mindedness 
will  ever  render  it  necessary  for  the  State  to  play  the  chief  role  in 
dealing  with  what  is  the  most  menacing  of  all  social  dangers. 

The  State  Hospital  for  the  Negro  Insane  at  Goldsboro,  which  has 
provision  for  the  treatment  of  about  1,200  patients,  has  been  forced 
to  refuse  admission  to  new  patients  unless  the  county  from  which  a 
patient  is  sent  will  consent  to  the  parole  of  a  less  violent  patient — thus 
effecting  an  exchange  of  patients.  Unless  a  Negro  mental  defective 
is  violently  insane,  he  is  left  free  to  pursue  his  way,  until  in  the  course 
of  events  he  becomes  a  public  charge  in  the  county  home  or  other  public 
institution  or  is  received  as  a  regular  "member"  of  one  of  the  county 
chain  gangs. 

The  Hospital  for  the  Negro  Insane  at  Goldsboro  has  been  forced  to 
care  for  patients  who  belong  in  an  institution  for  the  feeble-minded. 
The  provision  of  a  unit  at  the  Caswell  Training  School  to  care  for 
the  Negro  mental  defective  would  be  most  helpful.  They  would,  of 
course,  be  entirely  separate  from  the  white  inmates  but  under  the  same 
scientific  supervision. 


16  Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 


THE  PROGRAM  OUTLINED 


A.  Organization  Objectives 

The  organization  of  social  forces  in  twenty-five  Negro  communities, 
with  the  county  as  the  unit  of  organization. 

Yisits  to  county  welfare  office  by  director  of  Negro  Division  for  con- 
ference with  superintendent  of  public  welfare,  members  of  the  county 
welfare  board,  and  other  officials  of  the  county,  city  or  town.  Conference 
with  representative  local  Negro  group.  The  purpose  of  these  confer- 
ences to  develop  a  live  interest  in  the  proposed  program. 

Selection  and  appointment  of  Negro  advisory  committee  of  seven 
persons  in  each  county.  This  committee  to  serve  as  an  auxiliary  body 
to  the  county  board  of  public  welfare  and  the  superintendent  of  public 
welfare. 

Cross-section  survey  of  social  conditions  among  Negroes. 

Meeting  of  Negro  advisory  committee  with  superintendent  of  public 
welfare  and  members  of  the  county  board  of  welfare.  Purpose :  To 
discuss  ways  and  means  of  raising  budget  to  finance  salary  and  expenses 
of  a  full-time  Negro  welfare  assistant,  and  such  other  necessary  items 
in  the  promotion  of  county-wide  welfare  program. 

Appointment  of  trained  Negro  social  worker  as  assistant  to  the  super- 
intendent of  public  welfare.  This  appointment  to  be  approved  by  the 
State  Commissioner  of  Public  Welfare. 

Educational  group  meetings  in  community  centers  throughout  county, 
closing  with  a  county-wide  mass  meeting  held  in  the  county  court  house. 
The  closing  mass  meeting  is  usually  interracial  in  character,  invitations 
are  sent  to  all  county  officials  and  other  interested  white  leaders  and 
organizations. 

Note  : — The  steps  outlined  above  in  the  process  of  organizing  the 
social  forces  in  a  Negro  community  usually  take  about  three  months 
to  be  gotten  well  under  way. 

The  director  of  the  division  cooperates  in  an  advisory  capacity. 

B.  Activities 

The  organization  of  a  Parent-Teacher  Association  or  Community 
League. 

Correlating  the  Negro  county  welfare  program  with  the  State,  county, 
and  city  programs  of  education,  health,  etc. 

Proper  enforcement  of  the  Compulsory  School  Attendance  Law. 
Study  of  the  causes  and  the  placing  of  responsibility  for  the  many 
flagrant  violations  of  the  attendance  law. 


State  Boakd  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare 


IT 


Providing  recreational  facilities  in  Negro  communities.  Stimulating 
an  interest  in  community  music,  through  the  organization  of  choral 
societies,  with  special  study  of  Negro  folk  songs  and  "Spirituals."  Pro- 
viding playgrounds. 

Inquiry  into  the  housing  situation. 

Development  of  the  schoolhouse  as  the  community  center. 

Remedial  social  service  program  in  cooperation  with  superintendent 
of  public  welfare,  Associated  Charities,  and  other  social  agencies  and 
institutions. 

Interesting  Negro  churches  and  fraternal  organizations  in  the  value 


St.  Agnes  Hospital 

Raleigh,   N.   C. 

A   general   hospital   for  Negroes. 

of  cooperative  effort,  in  their  contributions  to  worthy  objects  of  charity; 
conserving  thereby,  time,   effort,   and  money. 

Cooperating  with  Jeanes  Worker,  Farm  Demonstration  Agent,  Home 
Agent  and  Public  Health  Nurse. 

Organization  of  orthopedic,  mental  health,  and  T.  B.  clinics. 

REVIEW  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

Two  policies  decided  upon  at  the  beginning  of  the  Negro  welfare 
program  are  briefly  stated  here.  Since  so  little  had  been  accomplished 
for  Negroes  in  the  field  of  public  welfare,  it  was  thought  best  that  the 
first  steps,  while  slow,  must  necessarily  be  educational  in  character; 
also,  that  in  formulating  a  program  of  public  welfare  work  for  Negroes, 


18  Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 

one  of  the  most  important  functions  of  the  division  would  be  the 
gathering  of  facts  and  other  related  data  concerning  Negro  life  and 
social  conditions  affecting  same.  A  careful  study  and  analysis  of  the 
material  obtained  would  make  it  possible  for  the  division  to  interpret 
the  results  in  the  light  of  the  social  needs  of  the  Negro  population, 
and  all  efforts  could  be  intelligently  directed  toward  organizing  the 
social  forces  in  Negro  communities. 

A  Concrete  Example 

To  measure  the  progress  made  and  to  evaluate  the  results  obtained 
during  the  first  eighteen  months  that  the  division  has  been  functioning, 
the  following  concrete  examples  are  given.  It  was  planned  at  the  outset 
to  show  in  four  counties,  "The  effectiveness  and  value  of  public  welfare 
work,  when  it  is  well  organized  and  adequately  financed."  Wake  County 
was  chosen  as  the  first  county  in  which  to  initiate  the  program  of  public 
welfare  among  the  Negroes.  (Attention  is  invited  to  facts  appearing 
under  the  heading,  "The  Program  Outlined.")  Thursday,  January  8, 
1925,  the  first  meeting  in  the  program  of  developing  a  Negro  welfare 
program  for  Negroes  in  North  Carolina,  was  held  in  the  office  of 
Mrs.  T.  W.  Bickett,  Superintendent  of  Public  Welfare  for  Wake  County. 
The  following  members  of  the  county  Negro  advisory  committee  were 
present  at  this  meeting:  Berry  O'Kelly,  Dr.  Lemuel  T.  Delaney,  Mrs. 
Addie  L.  Alexander,  Britton  Pearce,  and  Miss  Margie  Paschal.  In  a 
small  office  located  on  the  third  floor  of  the  Wake  County  court  house, 
this  little  group  of  pioneers  met,  and  formally  launched  the  first  county- 
wide  public  welfare  program  for  Negroes.  The  first  meeting  was  fol- 
lowed by  small  group  meetings  in  outlying  sections  of  the  county.  At 
subsequent  meetings  of  the  county  committee,  the  social  needs,  and  re- 
sources of  the  Negro  population  were  studied  and  evaluated.  A  sug- 
gested program  and  budget  to  finance  the  program  were  discussed  and 
informally  adopted  with  reservations.  The  amount  of  the  budget  was 
$1,500.  The  county  was  then  divided  into  township  units  for  the  pur- 
pose of  bringing  the  more  distant  communities  into  a  closer  relationship 
with  the  aims  and  objectives  of  the  county-wide  program.  In  each 
of  the  eighteen  townships  a  Negro  welfare  committee  of  three  persons 
was  appointed  by  Mrs.  Bickett;  the  members  of  these  township  com- 
mittees serve  as  the  contact  between  the  Negro  county  welfare  com- 
mittee and  the  local  township.  A  definite  quota  of  the  suggested 
budget  was  assigned  each  township  and  the  local  Negro  committee  was 
assigned  the  task  of  keeping  the  objectives  of  the  program  before  their 
community  and  of  collecting  the  quota.  Following  the  appointment  of 
township  committees  and  naming  of  township  quotas,  a  mass  meeting 
was  held  in  each  of  the  townships.  At  the  township  meetings  the  county- 
wide  welfare  program  was  outlined  and  explained  in  detail.     The  clos- 


State  Boakd  of  Charities  and  Public  "Welfare  19 

ing  meeting  of  this  group  was  held  in  the  Wake  County  court  house, 
with  representatives  present  from  all  the  townships.  At  the  Kaleigh 
meeting  a  musical  program  of  "Spirituals"  was  rendered,  and  speeches 
were  made  by  representatives  of  the  eighteen  townships,  and  other 
prominent  Negro  citizens.  Short  talks  were  made  by  city  and  county 
officials.  At  the  final  meeting  township  committeemen  reported  a  total 
of  $900  in  cash  and  $500  in  pledges  to  be  applied  on  the  budget.  The 
money  was  turned  over  to  county  officials  with  the  understanding  that 
when  the  total  amount  of  the  budget  was  raised,  a  trained  Negro  social 
worker  would  be  named  as  assistant  in  the  office  of  the  Superintendent 
of  Public  Welfare. 

Beginning  September  1,  1925,  Miss  Margery  Edwards  was  appointed 
and  started  on  her  duties  as  county  Negro  welfare  assistant.  The 
period,  October  1,  1925,  to  June  30,  1926,  witnessed  a  most  phenomenal 
growth  in  the  development  of  the  Wake  County  welfare  program  for 
Negroes.  Miss  Edwards  brought  to  the  work  a  fund  of  training  and 
experience  in  social  work,  since  she  had  served  for  over  seven  years  as  a 
member  of  the  staff  of  the  Episcopal  City  Mission,  Philadelphia.  The 
"Wake  County  Plan"  as  it  is  now  known  throughout  the  State,  was  re- 
ceived in  a  most  kindly  manner  by  county  and  city  officials.  Only 
through  the  wholehearted  interest  and  support  of  the  Wake  County 
Commissioners  and  the  City  Commissioners  of  Raleigh  could  the  present 
results  have  been  achieved.  After  nine  months  demonstration  of  the 
need  and  value  of  welfare  work  for  Negroes,  the  county  of  Wake  and 
the  city  of  Raleigh  were  asked  to  appropriate  $600  each  toward  the 
Negro  welfare  budget  for  1926-27.  Without  a  dissenting  vote  the 
program  was  endorsed  by  both  bodies  and  the  requested  appropriations 
granted.  June  30,  1926,  marked  the  date  when  the  program  of  public 
welfare  for  Negroes  in  Wake  County  passed  through  the  period  of 
demonstration  or  experimentation  in  social  work.  Today  one  finds  in 
Wake  County  a  live  program  of  public  welfare  for  Negroes,  made 
possible  through  the  faith  of  the  Negroes  in  their  white  friends,  and  in 
their  own  ability  to  help  themselves.  With  their  money  and  by  their 
cooperative  effort,  the  Negroes  challenged  the  attention  and  secured 
the  unanimous  support  of  county  and  city  officials,  thereby  changing 
a  temporary  experiment  in  social  work  into  a  permanent  program  of 
public  welfare.  The  development  of  the  program  in  Wake  County  is  a 
concrete  example  of  constructive  interracial  work.  In  addition  to  their 
efforts  in  behalf  of  the  county-wide  public  welfare  program,  the 
Negroes  of  Raleigh  are  regular  contributors  to  the  Associated  Charities 
budget,  from  which  the  salary  and  expenses  of  the  Negro  visiting  nurse 
are  paid.  A  day  nursery  for  Negro  children  has  been  opened  in  Raleigh. 
The  building  which  houses  this  project  was  given  by  the  City  Com- 
missioners; and  the  Negroes  contribute  to  the  maintenance  fund. 


20 


Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 


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The  Wake  County  Plan  for  Organizing  the  Social  Forces 
in  a  Negro  Community 


State  Boaed  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare  21 

The  Wake  County  Plan  for  organizing  the  social  forces  in  Negro 
communities,  as  outlined  and  detailed  above,  has  been  described  in  full, 
because  the  value  and  effectiveness  of  this  type  of  approach  to  the 
problem  of  community  organization  have  fully  demonstrated  its  worth 
in  eighteen  other  counties  of  North  Carolina. 

The  Placement  of  Trained  Workers 

When  the  division  was  established  there  were  three  counties  in  the 
State  that  employed  Negro  social  workers.  Mrs.  Hattie  Russell  of 
Charlotte,  was  the  first  Negro  welfare  worker  appointed  as  a  full-time 
worker  and  paid  from  public  funds.  The  splendid  social  work  program 
for  Negroes  in  Mecklenburg  County  is  due  to  the  efficient  efforts  of 
Mrs.  Russell.  The  constructive  values  of  the  Wake  County  Plan  have 
been  demonstrated  in  eighteen  additional  counties  of  the  State.  In 
nine  of  these  counties  there  are  ten  full-time  Negro  welfare  assistants 
employed;  and  four  other  counties  employ  a  part-time  Negro  assistant. 
Six  of  the  full-time  Negro  workers  are  paid  all  of  their  salary  and 
expenses  from  county  and  city  appropriations ;  while  six  of  the  full-time 
Negro  workers  are  paid  from  public  funds,  supplemented  with  money 
from  private  sources.  In  two  counties  Negroes  pay  all  the  salary  of 
the  part-time  Negro  worker. 

The  workers  noted  above  are  serving  as  probation  officers,  family 
case  workers,  public  welfare  assistants,  and  community  organizers. 
The  table  following  gives  in  condensed  form  the  story  of  the  placement 
of  trained  Negro  social  workers  in  the  public  welfare  field  during  the 
last  eighteen  months.  During  the  period  January  1,  1925,  to  June  30, 
1926,  a  total  of  $20,610  was  paid  to  Negro  welfare  workers  in  North 
Carolina  for  salaries  and  expenses.  Of  this  amount  $14,810  was  paid 
from  public  funds,  and  the  balance,  $5,800,  was  contributed  by  Negroes. 


22 


Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 


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State  Boakd  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare  23 

AN  example  of  specialized  service 

On  the  invitation  of  the  Gaston  County  Commissioners  and  Mrs. 
Gertrude  K.  Keller,  Superintendent  of  Public  Welfare,  the  director  of 
the  Negro  Division  made  a  thorough  study  of  the  health  and  welfare 
needs  of  the  Negroes  of  Gaston  County.  As  the  result  of  this  study  a 
full  program  of  Negro  welfare  work,  embracing  the  reorganization  of 
the  local  colored  hospital,  health  work  in  the  schools,  and  other  health 
and  welfare  measures,  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the  County  Com- 
missioners and  the  Gastonia  City  Council.  A  budget  of  $7,000  for  one 
year  was  adopted,  and  an  appropriation  made  to  cover  the  several  items 
of  the  budget.  A  ten-bed  annex  for  Negro  tubercular  patients  will  be 
erected  immediately  on  land  adjoining  the  colored  hospital.  The  hos- 
pital will  be  put  in  first-class  condition  and  will,  under  the  new  program, 
serve  as  a  radiating  center,  in  the  development  of  a  county-wide  health 
and  welfare  program,  cooperating  with  the  public  health  and  public 
welfare  departments.  All  school  children  are  to  be  given  a  physical 
examination,  and  tuberculosis,  orthopedic  and  baby  clinics  are  to  be 
held  at  the  hospital. 

In  commenting  on  the  action  of  the  commissioners,  Mrs.  Kate  Burr 
Johnson,  Commissioner  of  Public  Welfare,  said :  "This  is  a  specific  and 
a  very  interesting  instance  of  the  kind  of  service  which  the  various 
divisions  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare  are  pre- 
pared to  render  the  counties  of  the  State.  A  careful  survey  of  the  field 
by  an  experienced  social  worker  often  results  in  a  deeper  interest  and 
stronger  support.  The  plan  which  has  been  accepted  by  Gaston  County 
and  the  city  of  Gastonia  is  a  sound  one,  and  will  be  of  increasing 
benefit  to  the  Negro  people  of  the  community." 

TRAINING  OF  WORKERS 

One  of  the  most  difficult  problems  facing  the  division  has  been  that  of 
securing  trained  Negro  social  workers.  There  is  a  growing  demand 
for  educated  social  workers  in  the  South.  This  demand  for  an  educated 
leadership  is  part  of  the  larger  demand  for  the  best  leadership  among 
Negroes  in  other  fields.  A  study  of  the  educational  qualifications  of 
the  14  Negro  welfare  workers  now  serving  with  city  and  county  welfare 
departments,  brings  to  light  the  following  facts.  Four  workers  have 
had  four  years  of  college  work,  and  two  of  this  group  have  pursued 
special  courses  in  social  work;  six  have  finished  two  years  of  college 
work,  and  three  of  this  number  have  completed  special  courses  in  social 
work;  four  are  graduates  of  accredited  high  schools,  and  two  of  this 
group  have  taken  a  special  course  in  social  work.  The  average  monthly 
salary  paid  these  workers  is  $90.  Ten  workers  are  women,  and  four 
workers  men. 


24 


Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 


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State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare  25 

public  welfare  institute 

Under  the  direction  of  the  Division  of  Work  Among  Negroes,  a  Public 
Welfare  Institute  was  held  at  the  Winston-Salem  Teachers'  College, 
January  13,  14,  and  15,  1926.  While  the  general  field  of  public  welfare 
was  covered  in  the  many  conference  groups,  community  organization, 
and  the  history,  scope,  and  object  of  social  work  were  stressed  as  out- 
standing topics  of  the  institute.  The  chief  purpose  of  the  institute  was 
to  give  further  training  to  those  workers  employed  by  county  and  city 
governments,  and  to  offer  special  lectures  for  officers  and  workers  from 
the  many  volunteer  and  private  social  agencies  throughout  the  State. 


26  Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 


PBOGBAM  OF  THE  INSTITUTE  OF  PUBLIC  WELFAKE  HELD 
AT  WINSTON-SALEM,  JANUAEY  13-15,  1926 


Faculty 


Mrs.  Kate  Burr  Johnsjon 
State  Commissioner  of  Public  Welfare 

Miss  Lily  E.  Mitchell 
Director,  Laura  Spelman-Eockefeller  Memorial  Demonstration 

Dr.  Harry  W.  Crane 
Division  of  Mental  Health  and  Hygiene,  State  Board  of  Welfare 

Mr.  A.  W.  Cline 
Superintendent  of  Welfare,  Forsyth  County 

Lieutenant  Lawrence  A.  Oxley 
Director  of  Work  Among  Negroes 

Speakers  at  the  Evening  Sessions 

Dr.  S.  G.  Atkins,  President  of  the  Winston-Salem  Teachers'  College. 

Colonel  W.  A.  Blair,  Chairman  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and 
Public  Welfare. 

Mr.  M.  M.  Grey,  Superintendent  of  Welfare  in  Mecklenburg  County, 
and  President  of  the  N.  C.  Association  of  Superintendents  of  Public 
Welfare. 

Mrs.  W.  A.  Newell,  North  Carolina  Interracial  Commission. 

Mr.  Eoy  M.  Brown,  School  of  Public  Welfare,  University  of  North 
Carolina. 

Mr.  N.  C.  Newbold,  State  Director  of  Negro  Education. 

Dean  W.  S.  Turner,  Shaw  University,  Ealeigh. 

Dr.  Howard  W.  Odum,  Director  of  the  School  of  Public  Welfare, 
University  of  North  Carolina. 

E.  Franklin  Frazier,  Dean  Atlanta  School  of  Social  Work. 

E.  T.  Atwell,  Field  Director,  Playground  and  Eecreation  Associa- 
tion of  America. 


State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare  27 

Schedule  of  the  Regular  Classes 
9  A.M.  to  5  P.M. 

History,  Scope  and  Object  of  Social  Work Mrs.  Kate  Burr  Johnson 

Community  Organization Lieut.  Lawrence  A.  Oxley 

Social  Case  Work  and  Record-keeping Miss  Lily  E.  Mitchell 

School  Attendance  and  Juvenile  Court Mr.  A.  W.  Cline 

The  Negro  Mental  Defective Dr.  Harry  W.  Crane 

A  total  of  seventy-three  persons  were  enrolled  for  the  institute 
classes.  Eighteen  of  the  workers  were  from  cities  and  counties  in  the 
State.  Seven  were  from  various  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A.  associa- 
tions over  the  State.  Others  included  workers  from  state  institutions, 
private  social  agencies,  and  church  social  service  organizations.  Work- 
ers came  from  practically  every  section  of  North  Carolina,  from  as 
far  west  as  Asheville  and  as  far  east  as  Wilmington  and  Elizabeth 
City.  Sections  in  the  central  part  of  the  State  were  also  represented, 
including  Raleigh,  Durham,  Greensboro,  High  Point,  Charlotte  and 
other  cities  and  counties. 

The  mass  meeting  held  on  the  evening  of  January  13,  marked  the 
high  point  in  the  program  of  the  institute.  The  members  of  the  insti- 
tute were  privileged  to  have  Pardon  Commissioner  H.  Hoyle  Sink, 
personal  representative  of  Governor  McLean,  bring  to  the  meeting  the 
following  special  message  from  the  Governor. 

The  Governor's  Message 

"The  South  is  not  alone  the  home  of  the  Negro  race,  but 
it  is  unquestionably  the  best  place  for  that  race  to  work  out 
its  own  salvation.  Here  the  Negro  understands  the  white  race, 
and  the  white  race  understands  him.  Likewise  the  shortcom- 
ings of  both  races  are  better  understood  than  in  any  other  sec- 
tion of  our  country.  It  is  an  interesting  feature  that  in  North 
Carolina  fewer  Negroes  find  cause  to  leave  than  from  any  other 
Southern  state.  I  believe  that  this  is  due  to  the  splendid  co- 
operation that  has  existed  between  the  races  for  so  long.  I 
believe,  likewise,  that  the  work  you  are  engaged  in  is  responsi- 
ble in  no  small  measure  for  this  splendid  cooperation.  The 
continuance  of  this  policy  is  the  greatest  hope,  not  only  for 
your  race,  but  for  the  natural  and  active  development  and 
progress  of  our  State  as  a  whole." 

Education  was  advocated  as  one  of  the  best  means  for  the  uplifting 
of  the  Negro  race,  by  Roy  M.  Brown  of  the  School  of  Public  Welfare, 


28  Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 

University  of  North  Carolina,  who  spoke  on  "Negro  Crime  in  North 
Carolina."  Mr.  Brown  who  has  had  considerable  practical  experience 
in  welfare  work  among  prisons  in  the  State  prefaced  his  speech  with 
citations  of  several  examples  of  prisoners  that  came  under  his  observa- 
tion. The  interracial  conditions  in  Winston-Salem,  where  the  Negro 
population  is  larger  in  proportion  than  in  most  cities,  are  used  as  a 
model  for  investigation  by  sociologists  from  all  over  the  world,  said 
Mrs.  W.  A.  Newell  of  Mount  Airy,  member  of  the  North  Carolina 
Interracial  Commission.  Mrs.  Newell  stated  that  the  purpose  of  the 
commission  is  to  effect  an  understanding  between  the  races  by  promot- 
ing an  equal  opportunity  in  schools,  economic  relations,  and  churches  for 
both  white  and  black.  She  compared  the  growth  of  the  Negro  to  a 
growing  child  and  said  that  the  parent  must  recognize  the  energy  in  the 
child  or  there  would  be  friction.  "We  have  no  Negro  problem,"  said 
Mrs.  Newell;  "we  have  a  problem  of  human  striving."  E.  Franklin 
Frazier,  director  of  the  Atlanta  School  of  Social  Work,  said  that  the 
basic  problem  of  the  Negro  problem  is  the  proper  functioning  of  the 
family  in  regard  to  disintegration  and  sex.  He  emphasized  the  im- 
portance of  trained  welfare  workers  and  mentioned  the  troubles  en- 
countered in  interesting  counties  in  the  various  states  in  this  department. 
The  relation  between  recreation  and  juvenile  delinquency  was  clearly 
shown  by  E.  T.  Atwell,  field  director,  Playground  and  Recreation  As- 
sociation of  America,  who  by  mentioning  examples  proved  his  claim 
of  the  counteracting  influence  that  proper  recreation  has  upon  wayward 
children.  The  cause  of  the  so-called  crime  wave  sweeping  the  country 
today  is  that  social  knowledge  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  social  change 
in  the  revolution  of  the  order,  according  to  Dean  W.  S.  Turner  of 
Shaw  University,  Raleigh,  who  spoke  on  "Law  and  Order  in  the  World 
Today."  The  dean  said  that  human  nature  had  not  taken  a  turn  for 
the  worse,  but  that  this  generation  is  living  in  a  different  age.  Dean 
Turner  admitted  that  the  Negro  has  contributed  more  to  crime  than 
his  quota,  but  denied  the  charge  of  some  sociologists  that  crime  is 
instinctive  with  the  race. 

Schools  of  Social  Work 

The  demand  for  trained  Negro  social  workers  is  being  met  in  a 
measure  through  the  courses  offered  in  the  Atlanta  School  of  Social 
Work,  E.  Franklin  Frazier,  director,  193  Auburn  Avenue,  Atlanta, 
Georgia;  and  the  Bishop  Tuttle  Memorial  Training  School,  Miss 
Bertha  Richards,  Dean,  Raleigh,  North  Carolina.  The  Atlanta  school, 
established  in  1920,  is  the  oldest  school  of  social  work  for  Negroes  in 
/the  South.  Grants  from  the  Laura  Spelman-Rockefeller  Memorial 
Fund,  the  Russell-Sage  Foundation,  the  Atlanta  Community  Chest,  as 
well  as  individual  contributions,  have  made  the  school  an  independent 


State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare 


29 


institution,  equipped  to  give  specialized  training  to  young  men  and 
women  who  desire  to  enter  the  field  of  social  work.  The  Bishop  Tuttle 
School,  established  by  the  Woman's  Auxiliary  of  Episcopal  Church, 
and  maintained  by  funds  from  the  United  Thank  Offering,  offers  a 
three-year  course  in  social  work  to  young  women.  The  School  of  Public 
Welfare,  University  of  North  Carolina,  cooperates  with  the  faculty  of 
the  Bishop  Tuttle  School. 


The  Bishop  Tuttle  School 
Raleigh,  N.  C. 
A  national  center  for  the  training  of  young  Negro  women  in  Christian  leader- 
ship and  social  work. 

Social  Surveys 

In  addition  to  the  many  responsibilities  falling  to  the  lot  of  the 
Division  of  Work  Among  Negroes,  in  the  program  of  organizing  Negro 
communities  for  social  betterment,  the  director  has  made  a  number  of 
visits  to  various  sections  of  the  State,  touching  about  sixty-one  counties 
in  his  travels.  These  trips  had  for  their  primary  purpose,  the  gather- 
ing of  facts  relating  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  Negro.  Short  surveys 
of  social  conditions  among  Negroes  have  been  made  in  Rocky  Mount, 
New  Bern,  Gastonia,  Charlotte,  Asheville,  Durham,  Wilmington,  Eliza- 
beth City,  Raleigh,  Winston-Salem,  High  Point,  and  smaller  cities  and 
rural  communities.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  lack  of  funds  and  per- 
sonnel make  it  impossible  for  the  results  of  these  short  studies  to  be 
printed  and  made  available  for  distribution.  The  many  calls  made  upon 
the  time  and  efforts  of  the  director  have  served  to  prevent  him  from 


30  Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 

giving  the  attention  to  this  part  of  the  program  that  such  an  important 
subject  demands.  However,  such  information  as  has  been  gathered 
served  the  purpose  of  throwing  light  on  those  conditions  in  the  com- 
munity that  were  creating  problems  of  social  disorder  and  mal-adjust- 
ment. 

Case  Work 

The  director  of  the  division  has  cooperated  with  the  Pardon  Com- 
missioner and  the  Superintendent  of  the  State's  Prison  in  problems 
affecting  Negro  prisoners,  particularly  in  the  matter  of  investigating 
applications  for  parole.  The  division  has  also  cooperated  with  the 
authorities  of  fifteen  counties  in  the  handling  of  cases  that  were  inter- 
county  or  inter-state  in  character.  These  cases  range  from  investigation 
of  homes  for  placement  of  children ;  reports  on  Negro  mothers  receiving 
help  through  the  Mothers'  Aid  Fund;  relief  for  families,  suffering  be- 
cause the  bread-winner  is  an  inmate  of  the  penitentiary,  prison  camp, 
or  the  Goldsboro  hospital  for  the  insane;  and  problems  of  race  friction. 
The  total  number  of  cases  coming  to  the  attention  of  the  division  is 
ninety-one.  All  varieties  of  social  mal-adjustment  are  represented  in 
this  group.  Wife  deserters,  mental  cases,  illegitimate  children,  and 
crimes  against  the  public  morals  head  the  list.  A  special  booklet  detail- 
ing these  case  histories  with  photographs  of  the  subjects  would  prove 
to  be  interesting  and  valuable  information.  The  following  case  histories 
are  given : 

case  i 

This  case  involves  the  welfare  of  a  little  colored  girl,  10  years  old, 
in  the  home  of  her  father.  The  father  has  been  married  twice.  By  his 
first  wife  he  had  five  children  and  by  his  second  nine.  It  seems  that 
from  earliest  childhood  the  father  has  had  incestuous  relations  with 
all  of  his  eight  daughters,  also  that  he  has  practiced  all  kinds  of 
indecencies  on  them.  The  mother  was  aware  of  this  and  in  fact  she 
herself  has  suffered  shameful  treatment.  However,  she  is  of  an  ignorant 
type  and  absolutely  unable  to  cope  with  the  situation. 

The  father  has  harmed  each  of  his  daughters  from  the  time  they 
reached  the  age  of  six  or  eight  years.  He  began  by  swearing  each 
child  to  secrecy  so  that  none  of  the  children  knew  that  their  father 
was  having  improper  relations  with  any  other  member  of  the  family. 
Later,  however,  it  became  known  so  that  for  years  the  father  used  first 
one  girl  and  then  another  in  the  presence  of  the  others,  and  he  has 
also  committed  the  most  revolting  acts  of  sodomy  on  his  daughters  as 
well  as  his  second  wife. 

This  story  seemed  so  unbelievable,  that  an  investigation  continuing 
over  a  period  of  six  months  was  necessary  before  sufficient  evidence 
could  be  secured  to  warrant  the  arrest  of  the  father.  After  many  delays 
and  difficulties  encountered  in  bringing  this  case  to  trial,  the  whole 


State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare  31 

story  was  laid  before  the  grand  jury  of  the  county,  five  true  bills  were 
returned  against  the  father,  charging  incest,  and  following  a  trial  in 
which  every  appeal  was  made  to  the  racial  prejudices  of  the  jury,  a 
verdict  of  guilty  was  found.  The  father  has  been  sentenced  to  the 
State's  Prison. 

CASE    II 

This  case  was  referred  to  the  division  by  the  Associated  Charities. 
Emma,  a  mental  defective,  had  been  seen  wandering  about  the  streets 
in  all  kinds  of  weather,  always  accompanied  by  her  seven  year  old 
daughter.  Both  were  thinly  clad  and  the  mother  was  always  in  her 
bare  feet.  A  visit  to  Emma's  home  showed  a  condition  existing  that 
was  a  reproach  to  our  Christian  civilization.  In  a  one-room,  cramped 
and  filthy  shack,  five  people  were  found  living  like  animals.  The 
windows  of  the  hut  were  tight  shut  and  the  odors  of  bodies  and  cooking 
and  foul  air  made  the  place  give  off  a  most  offensive  stench.  The  room 
was  packed  with  foul  and  useless  trash.  One  woman  about  twenty-five 
years  old  was  living  in  the  hut.  She  had  been  brought  back  from  the 
State  Hospital  for  JSTegro  Insane  as  "cured."  Since  her  discharge  from 
the  hospital  she  had  had  one  illegitimate  child,  and  at  the  time  of  the 
visit  was  pregnant  with  another  by  a  man  of  a  distinct  moron  type, 
who  also  lived  in  the  hut.  It  was  later  learned  that  this  man  was  the 
uncle  of  Emma,  and  was  the  father  of  her  two  children,  and  also  the 
father  of  the  first  child  of  the  other  woman.  Emma  was  committed  to 
the  Goldsboro  Hospital,  her  children  placed  in  approved  homes  of 
relatives;  the  other  woman  was  sent  to  the  hospital,  her  first  child  was 
placed  in  an  approved  home,  and  the  uncle  of  Emma  was  cited  to  appear 
in  court. 

Children  born  under  such  conditions  are  bound  to  be  one  or  another 
type  of  charges  on  the  State.  In  this  one  case  the  problems  of  housing, 
sanitation,  immorality,  ignorance,  feeble-mindedness  and  poverty  were 
shown  in  their  true  light  as  community  social  liabilities.  The  mal- 
adjusted individual  or  group  as  pictured  in  the  case  reports  noted  above 
suggests  the  following  question :  Is  it  not  worth  while  for  a  community 
to  make  an  investment  in  social  insurance  where  the  Negro  is  concerned  ? 
Is  it  not  better  to  pay  a  regular  premium  on  a  community  social 
insurance  policy,  than  to  continue  to  pay  community  liability  claims, 
which  increase  taxes,  and  leave  in  the  wake  a  trail  of  suffering  hu- 
manity—an added  burden  to  the  entire  citizenry? 


32 


Social  Welfake  Pkogeam  for  JSTegroes 


The  Old  State's  Prison  Camp  for  Negroes 
Cary,  N.  C. 


^wPP^lj 


The  New  State's  Prison  Camp  for  Negroes 
Cary,  N.  C. 


State  Boakd  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare  33 

Crime  Studies 

A  most  important  and  interesting  subject  has  been  touched  on  by  the 
division  in  the  gathering  of  data  and  other  information  on  the  problem 
of  Negro  crime  in  North  Carolina.  In  this  inquiry  we  are  again  faced 
with  the  difficulty  of  securing  adequate  financial  support  to  insure  the 
completion  of  the  study.  However,  it  is  the  hope  of  the  director  that  the 
material  now  in  hand  on  this  subject  will  stimulate  such  an  interest  in 
this  field  of  research,  that  sufficient  funds  will  be  made  available  to 
push  the  study  to  a  conclusion.  As  a  part  of  the  general  study  of 
Negro  crime,  the  director  is  engaged  in  gathering  facts  covering  the 
life  histories  and  social  background  of  thirty  Negroes,  who,  during  the 
last  two  years  have  been  convicted  and  sentenced  to  death  in  the  electric 
chair.  A  most  valuable  contribution  would  be  made  to  this  field  of 
research  if  an  appropriation  or  grant  could  be  secured  to  provide  the 
necessary  trained  workers  and  other  expenses. 

A  bit  of  information  has  come  out  of  the  preliminary  crime  study, 
which  proves  that  the  Negro  is  responding  in  a  most  creditable  manner 
to  the  opportunities  provided  by  the  State  of  North  Carolina  for  his 
welfare  and  progress.  Analysis  of  the  figures  covering  the  population 
of  the  State's  Prison,  develops  the  following  facts :  In  December, 
1915,  the  population  of  the  prison  was  divided  as  follows :  white,  32 
per  cent ;  Negro,  68  per  cent.  At  the  close  of  1920 :  white,  40  per  cent ; 
Negro,  60  per  cent.  In  1925,  following  the  most  intensive  period  of 
Negro  education  in  North  Carolina,  the  proportion  was  62  per  cent 
white;  and  38  per  cent  Negro.  Attention  is  directed  to  the  fact  that 
the  normal  crime  rate  for  Negroes  as  related  to  the  per  cent  of  popula- 
tion should  be  about  29  per  cent. 

Promotion"  and  Publicity 

The  director  has  personally  appeared  before  the  following  groups  and 
organizations  and  presented  the  program  and  objectives  of  the  division : 
National  Conference  of  Social  Work,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
National  Urban  League  Conference,  New  York  City. 
Superintendents  of  Public  Welfare,  University  of  N.  C,  Chapel  Hill. 
Maryland  Commission  on  Race  Relations,  Baltimore,  Md. 
North  Carolina  College  for  Women,  Greensboro. 
Federation  of  Colored  Women's  Clubs,  Durham. 
New  York  School  of  Social  Work,  New  York   City. 
North  Carolina  State  Conference  of  Social  Work,  Greensboro. 
Commission  on  Interracial  Cooperation,  Atlanta. 
Woman's  Missionary  Society,  M.  E.  Church,  South,  Raleigh. 
Social  Service  Conference,  M.  E.  Church,  South,  Lake  Junaluska. 
Presbyterian  Women,  Charlotte. 


34  Social  "Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 

Congregational  Church  Workers'  Conference,  Kings  Mountain. 

Episcopal  Church  Workers'  Conference,  Raleigh. 

Elon  Christian  College  (student  body),  Elon  College. 

Peace  Institute,  Raleigh. 

Conference  for  the  study  of  Negro  Life,  Durham. 

Y.  M.  C.  A.  Older  Boys'  Conference,  Winston-Salem. 

Y.  M.  C.  A.  Student  Conference,  Kings  Mountain. 

North  Carolina  Student  Volunteer  Conference,  Greensboro. 

North  State  Medical  Society,  Durham. 

North  Carolina  Association  Graduate  Nurses,  Greensboro. 

State  Baptist  Sunday  School  Convention,  Hamlet. 

Annual  Conference,  A.  M.  E.  Church,  Asheville. 

Hampton  Institute,  Hampton,  Va. 

N.  C.  Commission  on  Race  Relations,  Greensboro. 

N.  C.  Ministerial  Alliance,  Raleigh. 

Grand  Lodge  Negro  Masons,  Rocky  Mount. 

Grand  Lodge  Negro  Odd  Eellows,  Goldsboro. 

N.  C.  Association  Negro  Elks,  Wilson. 

Negro  Church  Workers'  Conference  (National),  Savannah,  Ga. 

Sponsored  by  the  Woman's  Club  of  Boston,  the  director  was  afforded 
the  opportunity  to  broadcast  an  address  on  the  "Negro  Welfare  Pro- 
gram in  North  Carolina"  over  station  WNAC.  During  the  summer 
of  1926  the  program  was  presented  to  3,720  Negro  public  school  teachers 
in  attendance  at  the  State  accredited  summer  schools. 

The  student  body  and  faculty  of  every  Negro  college  in  North  Caro- 
lina have  been  acquainted  with  the  development  of  our  program.  Men- 
tion is  made  elsewhere  in  this  report  of  the  many  community  mass 
meetings  held  in  various  centers  in  connection  with  the  organization 
and  promotion  of  the  work.  Special  articles  relating  to  Negro  welfare 
in  North  Carolina  have  appeared  in  the  Southern  Workman  for  Novem- 
ber, 1925 ;  and  Prof.  Mimms  in  his  recent  book  "The  Advancing  South," 
makes  mention  of  the  tangible  contributions  made  by  the  division  in 
the  field  of  race  relations  in  North  Carolina.  The  Associated  Press  has 
been  quite  friendly  in  its  attitude  toward  the  program  in  its  develop- 
ment. One  full-page  news  story  with  illustrations,  and  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty-two  smaller  articles  have  appeared  in  the  daily 
papers  of  the  nation.  The  Negro  Press  has  cooperated  in  a  most 
enthusiastic  manner  in  support  of  the  State  welfare  program.  The 
wide  circulation  of  Negro  newspapers,  and  their  increasing  influence  in 
shaping  Negro  thought  on  questions  of  the  day,  has  been  one  of  the 
most  important  factors  in  keeping  before  the  Negroes  of  the  country 
the  story  of  Negro  progress  in  North  Carolina. 


State  Boaed  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare 


35 


STATE  INSTITUTIONS 

The  director  has  visited  each  of  the  following  named  institutions,  at 
least  four  times  during  the  period  covered  by  this  report :  Morrison 
Training  School,  N.  C.  Industrial  Home  for  Colored  Girls,  Oxford 
Colored  Orphanage,  N.  C.  Tuberculosis  Sanatorium,  Goldsboro  State 
Hospital  for  Negro  Insane,  and  the  N.  C.  Orthopedic  Hospital.  Weekly 
visits  have  been  made  to  the  State's  Prison,  and  the  State's  Prison 
Camps  for  Negroes  at  Cary,  Durham  and  Marshall  have  been  visited 


m^Am::r£%m 


The  Angier  B.  Duke  Memorial  Building 
Colored  Orphanage 
Oxford,  N.  C. 
The  State  makes  an  annual  appropriation  of  $20,000  toward  the  support  of  this 
institution. 

once.  Twenty-four  county  jails,  ten  county  road  camps,  eleven  county 
homes,  seven  Negro  hospitals,  and  five  other  city  hospitals  having  pro- 
vision for  Negro  patients,  have  been  visited  by  the  director.  For  the 
purpose  of  observing  methods  of  business  management  and  care  and 
treatment  of  inmates,  visits  have  been  made  to  the  Stonewall  Jackson 
Training  School,  N.  C.  Orthopedic  Hospital,  State  Reformatory  for 
Negro  boys  located  at  Savannah,  Georgia;  and  Welfare  Island,  New 
York. 

One  of  the  objectives  in  the  development  of  the  State  social  program 
should  be  the  providing  of  the  necessary  funds  to  enable  the  Negro 
Division  to  render  a  larger  service  to  the  authorities  and  inmates  of  the 
several  institutions  for  defectives,  delinquents  and  dependents. 


36 


Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 


O    P    ^ 

°    •  =2 

"ri 

H     to   !h 
3   02    S3 

W   52  2 


State  Boaed  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare 


37 


The  Efland  Home 

The  story  would  be  incomplete  were  not  mention  made  of  one  of  the 
outstanding  accomplishments  in  the  North  Carolina  program  of  welfare 
for  Negroes.  The  problem  presented  to  the  community  in  the  person  of 
the  delinquent  Negro  girl  is  perhaps  the  most  difficult  of  solution.  The 
prey  of  unprincipled  men  of  both  races,  the  Negro  girl  stands  as  a 
pathetic  figure.  The  State,  unmindful  of  the  tremendous  social  liability 
this  problem  is  to  the  life  of  the  community,  has  neglected  its  plain 
duty  in  the  matter ;  and  today  in  North  Carolina  cities  and  rural  com- 
munities the  mal-adjusted  Negro  girl  is  left  free  to  wander  from  place 
to  place,  leaving  in  her  wake  a  trail  of  disease  and  human  suffering  as 
the  heritage  of  the  future  generations  of  both  races. 


First  Cottage 
N.  C.  Industrial  Home  for  Colored  Girls 
-     Efland,   N.    C. 
A  training  school  for  delinquent  Negro  girls. 


The  Negro  women  of  North  Carolina,  deeply  appreciative  of  the 
seriousness  of  this  problem  and  the  urgent  need  for  a  program  which 
would  provide  the  proper  care,  treatment  and  training  for  these  un- 
fortunate human  beings,  have  endeavored  over  a  period  of  years  to 
arouse  public  opinion  to  the  gravity  of  the  problem.  Finally,  realizing 
that  genuine  interest  in  any  project  is  best  demonstrated  by  individuals 
first  helping  themselves,  the  North  Carolina  Federation  of  Colored 
Women's  Clubs  purchased  about  three  hundred  acres  of  farm  land  at 


38  Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 

Efland,  North  Carolina,  and  erected  thereon  a  modern  frame  building. 
This  building  has  dormitory  space  for  twenty  girls,  a  spacious  reception 
hall  and  assembly  room,  living  quarters  for  the  matron,  domestic  science 
and  sewing  rooms,  kitchen,  dining  room,  a  modern  heating  plant,  toilet 
facilities  and  shower  baths.  After  many  futile  attempts  to  secure  an 
adequate  water  supply,  a  well  was  finally  bored  through  solid  rock  and 
water  is  now  pumped  to  the  main  house  in  sufficient  quantities  for  all 
purposes.  The  white  women  of  the  State,  under  the  leadership  of  Mrs. 
T.  W.  Bickett,  early  rallied  to  the  support  of  this  work  and  have 
cooperated  in  a  most  concrete  manner,  through  gifts  and  in  other  ways. 
The  Federation  of  Colored  Women's  Clubs  has  invested  about  $30,000 
in  this  project — an  investment  that  may  well  be  termed  "a  venture  of 
faith."  House  Bill  No.  121,  which  was  presented  to  the  1925  Legis- 
lature, provided  for  the  taking  over  of  this  home  by  the  State.  The  bill 
was  lost  in  the  committee.  Undaunted  by  this  reverse  the  women  re- 
newed their  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  project.  The  Home  has  been  fur- 
nished, a  matron  and  teacher  appointed,  and  twelve  girls  have  been 
committed  to  the  Home  by  judges  of  juvenile  courts.  The  Legislative 
Council  of  Women  is  sponsoring  a  new  bill  in  the  1927  Legislature 
which  provides  for  the  taking  over  of  the  Home  as  a  State  project. 

The  Morrison  School 

During  the  period  covered  by  this  report  the  Morrison  Training 
School  for  delinquent  Negro  boys  has  been  opened  at  Hoffman,  Rich- 
mond County,  North  Carolina.  This  school  is  made  possible  through 
an  appropriation  of  $25,000  made  by  the  Legislature.  The  school  has 
about  three  hundred  acres  of  good  farm  land,  on  which  four  buildings 
have  been  erected.  The  main  building  is  brick  veneered  and  contains 
three  dormitory  floors,  administration  offices,  superintendent's  quarters, 
reception  hall,  classrooms  and  assembly  room.  The  building  is  equipped 
with  a  modern  steam  heating  plant.  A  Delco  plant  furnishes  light  and 
pumps  water  to  the  buildings  from  a  natural  spring  on  the  grounds. 
An  electric  refrigeration  plant  has  been  recently  installed.  About 
seventy-five  boys  are  now  inmates  of  the  school.  In  addition  to  their 
classroom  work  the  boys  are  taught  such  industries  as  farming,  pig  and 
poultry  raising,  and  the  maintenance  of  a  model  dairy.  These  in- 
dustries are  planned  to  teach  the  boys  self-reliance,  initiative,  and 
ability  to  think  and  act  intelligently.  At  the  Morrison  Training  School 
Negro  boys  are  given  opportunity  to  build  character  that  they  may  be 
returned  to  their  home  communities  social  assets  rather  than  liabilities. 
Negro  Elks  have  pledged  $5,000  toward  the  erection  of  a  dormitory  at 
this  school. 


State  Boakd  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare 


39 


40  Social  Welfare  Pkogram  foe  Negroes 

Negro  Oethopedic  Ward 
Through  a  generous  gift  of  $15,000  made  by  Mr.  B.  N.  Duke,  a  ward 
for  the  treatment  of  Negro  crippled  children  has  been  opened  at  the 
North  Carolina  Orthopedic  Hospital,  Gastonia,  North  Carolina.  The 
Council  of  State  recently  authorized  an  emergency  appropriation  for 
the  maintenance  of  this  ward  until  the  1927  Legislature  convenes. 
Negro  children  needing  orthopedic  treatment  are  received  in  all  clinics 
held  throughout  the  State;  and  those  needing  hospitalization  are  ad- 
mitted to  the  Gastonia  institution  in  the  order  of  their  application. 
The  Negro  ward  has  a  capacity  of  twenty  beds.  About  thirty  children 
have  been  received  and  treated  since  the  ward  was  opened,  and  there 
are  twenty  children  now  undergoing  treatment. 

NEGRO  STATE  COMMITTEE 

In  developing  a  program  of  Negro  welfare  the  director  early  recog- 
nized the  great  value  that  helpful  advice  and  suggestions  coming  from 
leading  Negro  men  and  women,  would  mean  toward  the  success  of  the 
work.  Upon  the  recommendation  of  the  director  the  Commissioner 
created  a  Negro  Advisory  Commission  to  the  State  Board  of  Charities 
and  Public  "Welfare,  and  the  following  representative  Negroes  were  ap- 
pointed to  membership  on  the  Commission. 

Dr.  S.  G.  Atkins,  President,  Winston-Salem  Teachers'  College. 

Mrs.  Charlotte  Hawkins  Brown,  President,  N.  C.  Federation  of 
Colored  Women's  Clubs. 

Dr.  L.  O.  Miller,  Asheville,  N.  C. 

Eev.  A.  Myron  Cochran,  Kaleigh,  N.  C. 

Mrs.  H.  L.  McCrorey,  Charlotte,  N.  C. 

Dr.  Frank  W.  Avant,  Wilmington,  N.  C. 

Prof.  J.  A.  Bias,  Elizabeth  City,  N.  C. 

The  Negro  Advisory  Commission  held  its  first  annual  meeting  with 
the  Commissioner  and  representatives  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities 
at  Winston-Salem  Teachers'  College,  January  14,  1926.  The  many 
helpful  ideas  advanced  and  constructive  suggestions  made  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Commission  in  this  meeting  contributed  in  a  large  way  to 
the  success  that  has  rewarded  our  efforts. 

SUMMARY  OF  ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

1.  Twenty  counties  organized  for  social  work. 

2.  Thirteen  Negro  welfare  workers  placed  with  counties. 

3.  Morrison  Training  School  for  Negro  Boys  opened. 

4.  N.  C.  Industrial  Home  for  Colored  Girls  opened. 

5.  Orthopedic  ward  for  Negro  crippled  children  opened. 

6.  First  Public  Welfare  Institute  for  Negro  workers. 

7.  Publicity  throughout  State  and  nation,  Negro  Welfare  Work. 

8.  A  total  of  $20,610  paid  Negro  welfare  workers  for  salaries. 

Note: — This  amount  does  not  include  salaries  of  Negro  workers  in  Stat©  and 
county  institutions. 


State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare 


41 


Negro  Unit — State  Orthopedic  Hospital 

Gastonia,  N.  C. 

The  gift  of  B.  N.  Duke  and  presented  to  the  State  March  15,  1926. 


42  Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 

9.  A  grand  total  of  $65,000  raised  for  Negro  welfare  projects,  divided 
as  follows:  $14,810  appropriated  from  public  funds;  $15,000  from 
private  sources;  and  Negroes  contributed  $35,190. 

INFLUENCE  ON  OTHER  STATES 

A  direct  result  of  the  successful  North  Carolina  Negro  welfare  pro- 
gram has  been  its  influence  on  the  state-wide  social  programs  for 
Negroes  in  Georgia,  "West  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Michigan, 
Maryland  and  Missouri.  The  director  has  personally  appeared  before 
the  Maryland  Commission  on  Negro  Welfare,  and  has  conferred  with 
state  welfare  officials  in  Georgia,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and  Ohio. 
Through  correspondence  valuable  contacts  have  been  maintained  with 
state  welfare  officials  in  Missouri  and  West  Virginia. 

EDUCATION 

The  story  of  Negro  welfare  and  progress  in  North  Carolina  would  be 
incomplete  were  not  mention  made  of  the  State  program  of  public 
education  for  Negroes.  Under  the  Division  of  Negro  Education,  Mr. 
N.  C.  Newbold,  director,  of  the  State  Department  of  Public  Instruction, 
a  most  commendable  program  has  been  developed.  Mr.  Newbold  stands 
out  prominently,  as  a  pioneer  and  an  authority  in  the  field  of  Negro 
education ;  and  to  his  vision  and  broad  democratic  spirit  is  due  in  large 
part  the  constructive  results  achieved  in  this  specialized  field  of  en- 
deavor. Within  the  five  year  period,  1921  to  1925,  inclusive,  North 
Carolina  has  spent  of  public  tax  money  in  round  numbers  about  $18,- 
000,000  on  its  Negro  schools.  This  means  public  elementary  schools, 
high  schools,  normal  schools,  summer  schools,  and  colleges.  The  largest 
single  item  of  expenditure  is  for  the  salaries  of  teachers  in  the  public 
schools,  which  totals  in  the  five  years  about  $10,000,000.  The  next 
largest  expenditure  is  for  new  buildings  and  equipment  in  cities,  towns 
and  the  rural  districts— about  $5,000,000.  The  other  $3,000,000  was 
for  higher  education  and  teacher-training. 

North  Carolina  has  participated  in  the  Kosenwald  Fund  for  eleven 
years.  In  that  time  567  buildings  have  been  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$2,688,464.  Of  this  amount  the  Kosenwald  Fund  gave  $443,836;  the 
Negroes  themselves  gave  $483,441;  contributions  from  white  people 
amounted  to  $66,607,  and  public  tax  money  provided  $1,674,580.  The 
average  cost  of  these .  567  schools  in  North  Carolina  is  $5,664.  The 
teacher  capacity  is  1,465,  and  65,925  children  can  find  room  and  comfort 
in  these  modern,   well  built   schools.     Kosenwald   Schools   have   been 


State  Board  of  Charities  and  Public  Welfare 


43 


The  Old  Harnett  County  Negro  Rural  School,  1924 


The  New  Harnett  County  Negro  Rural  High  School,  1926 
A  Rosenwald   School. 


44 


Social  Welfare  Program  for  Negroes 


built  in  practically  every  one  of  the  one  hundred  counties  of  North 
Carolina,  and  present  an  attractive  appearance. 

The  Rosenwald  School  in  a  community  stands  as  a  monument 
interracial  cooperation  and  goodwill;  and  provides  an  ideal  center  io\ 
the  promotion  of  a  program  of  community  service. 

AIMS  AND  OBJECTIVES 

June  30,  1926 

1.  Passage  of  bill  by  the  1927  Legislature  providing  for  the  taking 
over  of  the  North  Carolina  Industrial  Home  for  Colored  Girls. 

2.  The  organization  of  social  forces  in  twenty-five  additional  Negrj 
communities. 

3.  Placement  of  sixteen  additional  trained  Negro  social  workers  aj 
public  welfare  assistants,  case  workers,  and  probation  officers. 

4.  Appropriation  for  maintenance  of  Negro  ward  at  North  Carolina 
Orthopedic  Hospital. 

5.  Completion  of  study  of  crime  among  Negroes. 

6.  Appropriation  for  maintenance  of  Division  of  Work  Amon^ 
Negroes. 

7.  Appropriation  for  the  erection  and  maintenance  of  a  unit  building 
at  the  Caswell  Training  School  for  the  care  and  treatment  of  feeble 
minded  Negroes. 

WORK  MARKED  BY  HEARTY  COOPERATION 

Whatever  good  has  been  accomplished  through  the  activities  of  ih\ 
division  is  due  in  large  measure  to  the  hearty  response  and  cooperatioi 
that  has  come  from  Negro  leaders  and  organizations  throughout  thj 
State.  To  Dr.  S.  G.  Atkins,  President,  Winston-Salem  Teachers'  Col 
lege,  we  are  indebted  for  the  splendid  arrangements  made  at  the  colle^ 
for  the  entertainment  of  the  first  Public  Welfare  Institute.  To  th^ 
many  superintendents  of  public  welfare,  county  commissioners,  an< 
State  officials,  whose  interest  and  cooperation  has  been  generously  givei 
the  director  expresses  his  appreciation. 


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